The hour alone with Billy was one of the hardest Aurora had ever spent.  On some level, she was angry simply because instead of embracing and loving one another they were arguing in hushed tones.  He was pushing her and she pushing him and this 'Discussion' of theirs had at times become downright heated.  Twice she'd almost walked out.  Once he'd almost done it.

What started as a demand to know why she'd made the 'bone-headed' choice to fight her father grew into a deeper 'talk' Aurora couldn't have seen coming if she had been given a crystal ball.  She'd never seen such a power struggle in her own parents' marriage but she supposed that if it had happened they wouldn't have let her and Will know in any case.  Though she suspected that the definition of roles in their marriage and in the Cosa Nostra had never been a discussion for them because unlike she and Billy, Gavin and Bella had always been different and they both played to and embraced their strengths even when it was presumably hard to have done so.  

Bellla wanted to be a good wife and mom, as evidenced by her struggles to master cooking traditionally Italian and American style family meals and her insistence on a weekly dinner with her whole family.  And yet, she'd left the home to lead in the Cosa Nostra every day.  While Dad, who had once been a man of action and adventure, settled in each day to read books, play games, tend to sick kids and make sure homework was done (well, maybe not so much this one, but sometimes!)

They'd taken a hard path, each of them giving up something.  Had she and Billy thought there would be no sacrifices?  Or was it that this moment and all the stress had made them keenly aware that they would and in this situation it was going to hurt far more than if they'd been eased into the conclusions?  

Aurora had, arguably, won the argument - but the nature of spending their last minutes together in this way didn't feel like a win so much.  The dynamic of this marriage wasn't too different from her parents but perhaps a bit more flexible because she wasn't leaving the Cosa Nostra to play mom - nor Billy to play dad.  This time it would be her on point, this was her mission... though she supposed in some ways that happened only because of Dad and Tara's choices.  When it was all done, when Volkov was finally dead, she'd return to the role she'd chosen for herself in life without hesitation or regret.

The fight ended as they often did.  Not always.  Sometimes Billy was still so mad he couldn't.  He'd throw himself into his work, and she'd accept that they weren't her parents.  Sex did not fix everything, this was a lesson she was learning.  Her parents were as intimate a couple as she'd ever heard of - sharing not just a bedroom but a bed long after they'd been done with making children.  They genuinely were passionate with each other, that was never kept from she and William and she'd wanted the same in her own marriage.  Billy, for this most part and in this instance, did not disappoint.

Tara had wanted to leave within the hour... it was an hour before they'd finished fighting and making love.  Whether because of Charlie and Neil or if their fight and making up had been louder than they meant it to be, she couldn't say.  She just knew that no one dared to knock on the bedroom door.  

Little Gav was babbling in his crib when she finally caught her breath, blissfully unaware as newborns were, of her parents' troubles and the way they consoled each other.  Billy held Aurora's half-naked body tight to him and she found her breath again she got up to bring Gav to the bed to feed him one more time.  Laying beside her husband, Aurora fought tears as she watched her son and when it was done she took him from her breast for the last time and put him into her husband's arms so she could go shower.

Only once within did she let the tears come, muffling sobs under hands clenched over her mouth, kneeling near the drain, water running over her and the thick curtains of hair which hung about her face hiding her from the world.

It had been almost two hours since she'd knocked Gavin out when she came out of her room with a bag prepared, dressed, and ready to go.  Brigitte was up and eating breakfast.  Gavin and Tara were waiting and spending time with her, but they fell silent as Aurora came to join her little girl.  Billy, carrying their son and not a packed bag came out too.

"Neil gave me strawberries for my oatmeal."  Brigitte showed her mom a spoon of berries excitedly.

Aurora kissed the top of the girl's head and held her tightly.  As she tried to think of what her father used to say before leaving for trips, how he made it okay somehow.  She always missed her dad but she never recalled the trips he took to be scary... not even as she got older and knew what he was leaving to do.

"Why do you have a bag, Mama?"

"Je dois partir en voyage, ma Valkyrie."

"Voulez-vous partir pendant longtemps?"  The little girl asked, her head tilted to the side.

"Vouloir? Non, je ne veux pas y aller du tout, mais ..."  She knelt down in front of the girl and looked her in the eyes.  

"Vous souvenez-vous de notre conversation sur les méchants?"

The curly mop of blonde hair bounced with the girls over exaggerated nod.  Rora could feel her father's & aunt's eyes on her as he sat in a chair in the breakfast nook, but it was Billy's nearness that gave her strength.

Aurora swallowed.  "Je dois aller au travail maintenant. Grand-père et tante Tara m'accompagnent parce que ... Mastrosimone et Byrnes ne se battent pas seuls."

The little girl held out her arms and hugged her tightly speaking into her hair, "Voulez-vous m'apporter un cadeau, comme le faisait mon grand-père de ses voyages?"

Aurora chortled.  "Oui.  I'll bring you a present just like my dad used to bring me.  Something from a far away land where they have deep snow and bears that dance."

Brigitte's sadness at having her mother leave became a laugh.  "Bears don't dance."

"Oh!  But they do my Valkyrie.  I'll show you one ... someday.  In the meantime, do as Monsuier Billy tells you, yes?  Help with Little Gav."

"Oui, Maman."

"And give your Uncle William a hug for me."

"I will met Uncle Will while you are gone?"  She said brightly. 

"Yes.  Your father is going to stay here with you," She glanced to her Dad and Tara knowing this diverted from their original plans a bit and so it would be news to them.  "And Uncle William is coming too.  And more men are coming to work for your father so you'll have to meet them all and learn their names... some may even be girls."

"Can I practice with them?"

Aurora touched her daughter's nose, "I'd be disappointed if you didn't keep our routine up without me.  One day you'll be so good, that you'll beat even me."

Again Brigitte laughed.  "Will you miss me, Maman?"

"More than you know."  Aurora kissed the girl's cheeks and forced herself to say, "I love you."

"Je t'aime aussi, maman."

Aurora stood smoothly and turned from the girl so there was no chance she could see the emotion on her face.  Silent she stared into her husband's eyes.  Tara and Gavin were getting up now, saying farewell to Brigitte... distracting her she realized.  

She had a thousand things to tell him, but nothing spoke louder than what they'd shared a short while ago.  She would have told him to keep the kids safe or to not forget his promise, but his choice to stay with them here in Las Vegas rather than coming with her in some capacity said that already.  

So instead, they just kissed, for a long while and as it ended they pressed their brows together.  He held the side of her face with his free hand.  

"I love you."  She whispered, unable to disassociate it with all the other times that phrase had ever been uttered to her.  The power of the phrase wasn't lost on her right now... the magic of what her mother had made those words into for her was complete and heartbreaking in this moment and she both hated and loved the woman for it.

Then Billy brought up something she hadn't thought of in a long while... trying to support her as she once did him in a dark moment.  "Carrying your shield or not it."  he said with a sad smirk.

Aurora laughed through tears.

Then he said the last half of her own words back to her, with far more conviction.  It wasn't just a playful goodbye... it was an order.  "Don't you dare fail, Mrs. Mastrosimone.  Come back to us."

"Yes, Sir."  she whispered back to him and, before she lost all nerve she spun around, picked up her bag and lead the way out the front door and away into danger.

It was hard for Gavin to watch Aurora leave Billy, but he felt at peace as they all walked out of the house. No, he didn't want Aurora to leave her family. But she was better than him, now. A small sample size, sure. But every time his heart protested that she should stay home, his jaw reminded him that she needed to be there. Between the two of them... hopefully they'd be able to handle this.

Besides, Volkov might come for all of them; if he and Aurora were going to fight him, wasn't it best to do it together?

The car ride over to the plane was quiet. Aurora was lost in her thoughts. Tara was looking down a lot; it had been hard for her, seeing the results of her failure.

Gavin stared out the window, trying to reach out to the corners of his mind where he could tell an epiphany was lurking. Every time he moved toward it, it danced away. 

They silently boarded the plane and took off quickly; Tara's assistant had handled all the preparations.

The three Byrnes settled into luxurious leather chairs in the passenger section. Aurora stared out the window, lost in her thoughts. Tara started flipping through some papers, preparing to brief them. Gavin... just sat. He was far from a great thinker. Sometimes, he had to turn something over a dozen times in his mind before he put the pieces together.

Aurora's hand was still bruised from where she'd hit him.

A pause. Two minutes of silent reflection.

Fighting her had been like fighting himself.

He closed his eyes.

Aurora had known everything that he was going to try to do. Even so, he'd still managed to surprise her and land a few hits.

He opened his eyes, looking at his sister.

Gavin had never seen her like this. In all her years in the business, she'd suffered a rare defeat, but she'd never been crushed before. Gavin refused to believe that someone could out-think his sister so completely. She'd been doing this for years, and she was fucking brilliant at it. How could someone so perfectly burn down her network unless they knew...

Gavin's sharp intake of breath drew the attention of both Aurora and Tara.

He stood, motioning them all into Tara's small bedchamber. His voice was low, barely above a whisper.

"Tara, you have a mole. It's the only explanation. I'm not saying your perfect, but no one's done this to you in your whole life."

Tara shook her head before she protested, "Gavin, don't you think that was one of the first things I thought of? I trimmed personnel. I switched people around, planted false information to-"

Gavin pushed, "Was there anyone you did that with? Who was above the scope of your sweep?"

"Only Francis."

Gavin's eyes narrowed, but Tara raised a hand to shut him down before he began.

"Gavin, don't. He's been with me for fifteen years. He's built this entire operation up with me. He's one of my best friends, and he's one of the only friends I have left alive outside of my family."

Aurora grimaced, thinking of her mother and Louis Mezzo.

"Things change, Aunt Tara. You never know some people as well as you think, sometimes."

They were all quiet for a moment, before Gavin continued to press.

"Tara, you said this all started 18 months ago. In the lead up to that, did you have any big disagreements with Francis?"

"No. Yes." Tara's immediate response was overridden. "I let someone die that... but we... Gavin, he's my right hand. He's been there for me since I first started out. I-"

"Let me check his room."

"Gavin, no. I-"

"Aunt Tara... I think you should let him check. You're too close to this."

Tara looked like she was going to protest, but dropped her eyes and nodded. Gavin was out of the room in a flash- once he'd removed the knife from his calf and slipped it in his pocket.

It only took him a moment to find it. He'd shaken down enough people for money early in his career that finding hiding places was second nature to him. And there weren't many places to hide something on a plane. 

Francis didn't have a giant stash of secret documents; instead, it was just a couple pieces of paper hidden behind a small painting in the room of his cabin. Words written in Russian, numbers... Gavin didn't know what the hell it was.

He brought the papers back to Tara. And he brought Francis- with Gavin's knife against his throat. Francis marched like a man going to his martyrdom with clear eyes that seemed to look at something different. When Gavin dragged him to Aurora and Tara, Francis glared at his boss.

Tara's mouth dropped open as she looked down at the papers. No names. A few phone numbers. A codebreaking key. All in Russian. And if it was hidden... and with everything that had happened to Tara over the last eighteen months...

"Francis... why?" Tara's voice was barely audible.

"It was time to do the right thing. I thought I had been. I was wrong."

"... was it what happened with Laval?"

Francis nodded.

Tara seemed to be growing more animated as she sputtered, "But- you agreed! You were persuaded-"

"I was not. What is the use of arguing with someone who believes she is always right? You left a good man to die in agony."

"To save ten thousand lives, Francis!"

"It was not your choice to make. You are not God."

The small shaking of the head gesture that Tara seemed to have adopted was no a full fledged swing, like a woman trying to shake away reality. Then she stopped, exhaled, and sank into a chair. Gavin put some pressure on Francis's neck with the knife, prompting, "And you're working with Volkov?"

Francis just stared straight ahead, saying only, "I have nothing else to say. Kill me and be done with it."

Gavin looked at Tara and asked, "Will he break if I hurt him?" Tara shook her head. Gavin continued, "Well, maybe we can use him as a host-"

Both Gavin and Aurora reacted quickly, but not quickly enough. With a lunge and a jerking motion, Francis slit his own throat with Gavin's knife. The three Byrnes watched him die; Tara averted her eyes first, then she walked out of the room.

Gavin sighed.

"I'lll... take care of this. She knows all the tricks I use to try to talk to her or distract her. Give her a little space, but then talk to her... it'd be better, coming from you."

He stopped Aurora with a hand on her arm on her way out the door.

"We've got a problem, though. If that asshole was communicating with Volkov, then he knows we're coming. They'll have eyes- or guns- on us as soon as we land. We could try to use that to our advantage... although it makes me uncomfortable."

Gavin raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Or... I could show you a trick I learned in Jamaica.... I think we've got three parachutes. If we drop in outside the city, no one would be able to track us. We might have to hike for a day or two, but we'd be under the radar. Your call, Squirt. I'm just here to clean up the messes."

"... is it horrible that I actually feel better? One of my best friends.... my right hand... betrays me and kills my entire network- dozens of people I got to know personally.  And yet, I can't chase the thought from my head... I didn't lose; it was rigged against me.  Of course... being betrayed like that, I suppose I lost a much bigger game."

Tara was talking before she even got in the door.  She wondered if Tara knew it was her or if she expected her father and so had been speaking off the cuff to her twin.  Aurora didn't mind, either way, she just closed the door behind her and decided that she'd give her best effort at something her father and mother had both been better at than she was.  Hell, her last attempt to pull Tara up by her bootstraps had failed utterly - why did her father think she'd have more luck now?  

Aurora rubbed the back of her neck and averted her eyes a moment, trying to pull something in her head together.  Something wise or profound… hell, she would have settled for witty at this point.  Damn Will for being better at that than her and not being here.

She sighed.  All she had was all that she ever had, honesty.

“No.  A win is a win.  You’re in the business of long games and so every pawn counts.  Trouble is that you’ve always had the heart of a speed chess player.”  She sat on the edge of the small conference table and looked down at her Aunt.  

“All passion.  Love.  I’ve never seen you attempt to build anything that you didn’t put a bit of yourself into and that’s why every blow has been personal.  Francis knew that.  He knew how to inflict the most damage.  The plan wasn’t to kill you, he was close enough to have done that the whole time.  The plan was obviously to break you and he almost did, but you used the one resource that Francis thought he could safely ignore.”

She didn't mean the killers who were now on the plane with her, of course, she meant the family that had rallied to her and each other and would always do so when one of them was in trouble. 

Aurora smiled.

“We should never have let you drift so far away from us, Aunt Tara and while I know it’s not the same as hearing it from her, I know that my mother would have wanted you to know how sorry she was that all this happened.  How sorry we all are, not just because of this part… the scrambling and the death and all the other shit, but that you were alone.”

She looked down at the floor.

“If I had known…”  She paused.  Tara remained silent.  She wasn’t probably going the right path with any of this.  Aurora realized that maybe the apology was more for herself than for Tara.  She had to go at this another way.  Back up to where she’d started.

“Let’s get Dad in here.  I want to talk about the next steps. Francis has likely tipped off Volkov where we’re going … which is good. We’re the ones he wants and if he’s coming to Russia to find us then he’s not near Billy, Will, or the kids.  That means I can focus on the job.  It most likely means that for once we’re possibly in a position to put him on the defensive and maybe draw him out into a trap of our own design.”

She stood up and walked over to the woman and hugged her.  Tara wasn’t as much into hugs as her mother, but it felt right in this moment.  She kissed the top of Tara’s head the way she had done for Brigitte earlier.  

“I told you Tara Fucking Byrne was not out for the count yet.”  She chuckled against the woman’s head.  “Stay focused on the win, okay?  Just… put one foot in front of the other.  You don’t need to know how we cross the finish line just be willing to take one step. Then take the next.  We’ll get there.”

Aurora stepped out into the hallway and walked back to where her father was finishing up his clean up.  “We should plan now.  She needs to stay focused on the win, she’s got a glimmer of hope.  Let’s sit down with her and let her do what she does best.  Think.  I’ll talk.  You can shoot down our shit ideas and make sure we don’t get too fucking serious.”

She drew a breath.  “‘I’m glad he did it to himself, in the end, it was a mercy to Tara not to give that order.”

She shook her head and walked back towards the conference room.

Tara listened to Aurora, and as the young woman spoke Aurora could see that there was a spark in her aunt's eyes that hadn't been there before. When she spoke, her voice was more forceful. 

"Thank you, Aurora. I mean it. I'm not going to dwell on it when we have to work to, but your words are appreciated. 

She reached out and squeezed Aurora's hand.

"Volkov just lost his greatest advantage against me- against us. Now, finally, we'll be on a level playing field. He's still incredibly dangerous of course... but now he can't see the cards we're holding. I agree with you that we can feel reasonably sure that the children are safe. Francis didn't know where you were sending them, after all. He does know that it's the three of us coming to Moscow... and he knows when and where our flight will land."

Her voice picked up strength as she spoke; her mind, finally released from the doubts of the previous year and a half and taking its first free breaths, was building up steam again. That pure exhilaration of thinking strategically knowing that she had a chance to win... that was overpowering the grief at her friend's betrayal and the destruction of her network.

"Your father, I'm sure, will try to jump out of the plane... as he's told that story incessantly for decades. We can just as easily fly into Leningrad or Novgorod and then arrange a car... but let's talk in an hour or two. Give me a chance to organize my notes- to figure out what Francis could have hid from me or not."

Billy smiled as the car pulled up and threw his arms out. He ignored the fact that the car was flanked by two others of the exact same color, make and model, and that sixteen men, each armed, all got out at once. They were all on his payroll, and they were all about to leave.

"William Jackson Mother-Fucking Byrne. The fuck is the reason you haven't called me for before shit hits the fan? You're some shit brother you know that?"

Billy waved Will into the house and took his bag from him.

"Sorry about cutting the semester short to bring you to Vegas, but I very much doubt you have any real problems with that do you? Nah, if I know you the real problem facing us is how quickly we can spend my money on some fun shit. Well sir, I have some disappointing news in that regard. I've taken you out of one prison cell to drop you into another."

He clapped a hand on Will's back.

"I'll explain everything in about five minutes, but for now, do you mind taking some time to meet my kids for the first time? One of em is named after your dad after all. It would be nice I think. Being that we're goddamned family and the only reason we haven't done this before is cause your sister is... well... your sister."

He put Will's bag at the foot of the stairs and made his way into the living room, hoping the man would follow.

"Hey there kiddo, you want to meet your Uncle Will?"

Brigitte stopped and looked up to Billy nodding emphatically. She was not generally shy, but when she saw the man standing in the doorway Billy could feel her little hand slinging to his pant leg. She wasn't hiding behind him, but she needed him there with her. Will was a stranger after all, and that broke Billy's heart. No more strangers, not if they are family.

Will grinned as he got out of the car and Billy grabbed his bag. As he clapped a hand on Will's back, the younger man sighed.

"Billy, have you ever heard of a place called Radcliffe? I've met more smart girls in the last few weeks than I have the whole rest of my life... it's exhausting. And you don't have to explain anything. People are killing each other, we're potentially some of those people, this is for my safety blah blah blah. I've been doing this for my whole life. At least this time I'll have more company."

Will held back as the kids were introduced. He was a stranger, after all. Still, dealing with kids was just like dealing with people. Ask questions, be interested in what they.

"Hi. My name's Will. I'm Aurora's brother. What's your name?"

Brigitte looked up at the man in front of her. She could see in his face he looked more like Grandpa than like Maman. He had the same nose. She thought to reach up and touch it, but she changed her mind and kept fast to Billy's pant leg. It was now or never.

"Maman m'a parlé de vous avant son départ. Es-tu aussi intelligente qu'elle? M. Billy ne peut pas me comprendre, mais maman peut quand je parle comme ça. Peut tu?"

This would prove it. If he could talk with her like Maman could, then he was telling the truth. If he could not, then he was not and Brigitte would have to watch out for him.

Will grinned. He'd always been ten times the student that Aurora was when it came to languages. Whereas Aurora had to think about, the words rolled off Will's tongue like he'd been living in Paris his whole life. 

"Ta mère est très intelligente, mais je suis tout aussi intelligente qu'elle. Notre tante nous a appris à parler comme ça. Je suis désolée que ta mère ait dû partir un petit moment. Ma mère devait toujours le faire aussi. Ainsi que mon père, vous l'avez déjà rencontré. Ton grandpère. Tu peux m'appeler "oncle" si tu veux. Voulez-vous me faire visiter la maison?"

He glanced up at Billy.

"We're leaving soon, I assume? To be squirreled away somewhere?"

Brigitte nodded, Billy did not.

"Nope. Gonna hole up right here little brother. If this guy is really coming after Byrnes, how do we act as bait if we hide?"

Billy smiled as Brigitte pulled on his leg.

"Come Monsieur Billy, we have to show Uncle Will the house."

Billy looked down and smiled.

"Is it always this way Will? The Byrne women make the decisions and run things, and we get to play along? not complaining mind you, I'm very good at playing along, but it seems to me we have another one on our hands. Just when I thought I was going to have some peace and quiet."

He leaned down and picked up Brigitte, placing her squarely in Will's arms.

"Alright, you two go exploring then, let me pick up Gav and we will come with you. First stop, we have to show Uncle Will his bedroom."

Billy turned then to the crib in the corner and nodded. Gav was asleep again, he did that a lot. Quite the opposite of his namesake for the time being. Billy hoped that did not continue. Gavin was the strongest man he knew, including himself. This little guy was going to have to be of even tougher stuff one day. He picked his son up gingerly in his arms, transferring all of him into the crook of his left arm, leaving his right hand to pick up Will's bag as they made their way up the stairs.

"Oncle Will c'est ma chambre, la première, parce que j'étais la première mère et que M. Billy a été amené à la maison. Ensuite, c'est la chambre de Gav juste à côté de la mienne. Cela ne me dérange pas que, sauf quand il pleure la nuit, je l’entends parfois et il me réveille."

Billy was hoping she wasn't going to talk Will's ear off during the whole tour, and yet. He was very glad that she was.

Will shrugged.

"Works for me. Guess things can't be too bad if we're staying put and- did you say something about bait? Does Aurora know about that? What's the plan here?"

Regarding the question about Byrne women, Will grinned.

"Well... yea. Basically. Tara was a Godmother. My mom, obviously, was a Godmother. Aurora has always been a... forceful personality. They tend to get their way. If you don't want to get bossed around your whole life, just watch my dad. He never really worries about who's 'in charge', but if you watched Aunt Tara or my mother in conversations, they'd always give him this really quick glance after they said something they weren't sure of. There was a lot more equality there than people think."

He shrugged as he listened to Brigitte. 

"Le grand Gavin me réveillait parfois la nuit aussi, marchant bruyamment et heurtant des meubles dans le noir. C'est frustrant quand on se réveille, mais c'est bien de savoir qu'ils sont là. Quel genre de choses aimes-tu jouer, Brigitte?"

Brigitte pointed to her collection of dolls in the corner of her room, neatly stacked.

"Je joue avec mes poupées et je prends le thé comme le font ma mère et M. Billy. Parfois, il me rejoint même! Quand il est à la maison et ne travaille pas."

Her face dropped then in a sad sort of way as she glanced in Billy's direction.

"Il travaille beaucoup, mais maman dit que c'est pour que nous puissions avoir de belles choses comme des poupées."

Billy looked to Will then for some kind of explanation. Aurora usually knew that when their daughter looked at him and said something in French she would let him know somehow. Billy wasn't sure if Will would pick up on that or not, if not he would have to remember to ask him later.

"Maman m'a aussi appris à chasser les trésors, mais je ne peux pas y jouer à la maison, seulement lors de grandes soirées ou au parc avec beaucoup de monde."

Billy watched as his daughter continued to express herself, she was becoming comfortable with Will, which was good. He was going to be much closer than he had been as of late.

"Don't worry Will, Aurora knows that I don't plan on hunkering us down unless we need to. We discuss everything she and I. She even told me about Alucard last night."

He let that hang there. Billy knew that if anyone in the world knew anything about that, it was Will. So he would understand that they really had let everything go. It was entirely about the family now, about the kids, and for Aurora, billy understood, that still included Will.

"Besides, three for the price of one seems a much better offer than just little old Will."

Billy winked at him then and continued to follow down the hall.

"Thank you for the advice though. I might have to start learning to keep my mouth shut and not worry so much about what other people think. It's gonna be hard though, old habits and all."

Will followed Brigitte, listening as a dutiful Uncle.

"Peut-être pouvons-nous chasser des trésors? Si je connais votre mère et votre grand-père, ils ont quelque chose de caché à découvrir."

As Billy looked to Will for an explanation, he gave a quick recap without mentioning the heavier stuff. Not something to casually introduce.

"She's telling me about her dolls and treasure hunts; I offered to do one of the latter later."

They walked, talking about more adult matters.

"Hey, if you say so, Billy. You're the boss here.  It just doesn't seem like Aurora to use her children as bait. I'd be willing to bet basically everything I own that she wouldn't use that word. And if we're the bait, does that mean Rora and Dad are waiting right outside for someone to hit us? Who's springing the trap once the predator starts sniffing around?"

He studied Billy closely. The man had come back from the dead, after all. Will thought it was fair to be a little skeptical.

Billy smiled.

"You and me Will, that's who. Mostly me if I remember much of anything. I'm not trying to be mean about that, but it is what it is. The bodyguards too though, everyone here. The guy doesn't scare me Will. I don't honestly even think he's going to show up, there's much juicier fruit somewhere else."

He poked little Gav's nose then as the boy stirred in his arms and opened his eyes. For once, he didn't wake up screaming for something.

"You want to hold him? Oh, and no, you're not playing a treasure hunting game. It's not what you think."

He chuckled a bit then.

"Aurora has taught the little one how to sneak things out of people's pockets, they are called treasures. Isn't that right my little Valkyrie?"

Brigitte nodded and smiled broadly at Billy. She liked the nickname he had given her. It meant she was strong, and if Monsieur Billy thought she was strong then she must be.

Will blinked.

"Billy, I don't know if you know this about me... but I really don't like guns. I don't know if the gun thing just skips a generation or whatever, but I haven't shot one in a year. If you're sure you can handle this, then sure. You're family."

He grinned. 

"And yea, I'll hold him. He's so much better looking than the other Gavin."

Will glanced down at Brigitte, keeping an eye on his pockets. When he spoke, he stressed "valkyrie" so Billy would know what he was asking about.

"Savez-vous ce qu'est une valkyrie? Avez-vous entendu les histoires à leur sujet?"

Brigitte nodded emphatically.

"Uh-huh. Maman me raconte des histoires, et monsieur Billy aussi. J'aime les histoires des dames guerrières. Monsieur Billy m'a même parlé d'une française, comme moi, Jean d'Arc. J'aime son récit le meilleur, sauf pour mourir à la fin."

A shadow crossed her expression then and she turned to Billy.

"When is mama coming home? Do you know yet?"

Billy handed little Gav off to Will. He knew exactly what he was going to do here, he had been thinking about it since he decided to stay. And so, he shrugged.

"No idea. Mama will be home when she wants to come home, just like I come home after work. She just might stay out a little longer than I do, that's all. Mostly because her work is very important. The more important the work, the longer you wind up staying out. I'm not worried though. Are you worried Brigitte?"

He furrowed his brow then as he looked down to his little girl. She in turn firmly put her foot down.

"No. I just miss mama, that's all."

Billy chuckled.

"She hasn't even been gone a whole day yet! I know you love your mama very dearly, and you get to miss her as much or as little as you want. I just think that we should save the missing mama for another time and get to know Uncle Will for a bit. He's a pretty cool guy. He's real smart too, way smarter than da..."

He stopped himself mid-sentence and changed gears by coughing.

"Excuse me! Smarter than Monsieur Billy is by far, and maybe even smarter than mama."

Brigitte looked at Will skeptically then.

"Personne n'est plus intelligent que maman."

"J'aime ces histoires aussi. Mourir à la fin n'est jamais amusant, cependant."

Will grinned down at Brigitte.

"J'aime trop ma propre mère; Je ne me mettrais jamais devant la mère de quelqu'un d'autre."

He winked at Billy.

"I would never get between someone and their mother. If you think we're safe and you're looking to kill some time, Mr. Billy, you do happened to be caged in with the top ranked Freshman in the Foreign Language department. We could start working on that French of yours, if you'd like. Might take a while before you're fluent... but we do have the time, if you're interested?"

Billy nodded.

"I would appreciate it. The little rascal here only ever makes fun of me when I get it wrong."

He smiled and tickled Brigitte as he lifted her upside down into the air. She squirmed, but still smiled.

"Uncle Will! Save me!"

She reached out for the man she had taken in so quickly as family.

Three Days Later

Three days since Aurora had gone and still Billy would half expect her to be waiting in the bedroom when he went to sleep every night. That or standing in the kitchen making a pot of tea. Or feeding Gav. Instead he was waving to Will down the hall as he headed up to his bedroom. Billy turned and nodded to Oscar.

"Charlie has the night shift, you go to bed too, need you in the morning."

Oscar nodded and yawned.

"Night boss."

And with that he headed out past the guards to the guest house. Four men were sleeping out there, five if you counted Oscar. Four men were posted around the house, five if you counted Charlie. Billy had reached out to a few old friends from Detroit and pulled in some of the guys who were on his payroll back there. only the most loyal of them, only the guys he knew he could trust. Charlie was in charge, and he stayed in the house roaming the halls every night while everyone else slept. So far he hadn't had to wake Billy at all. Little Gav had. It was odd feeding him with that powdered crap. He would be happy to have Aurora home soon, so would Billy.

He made his way around the house and locked the doors and windows one by one, starting out back, and ending up front. He and Charlie turned the lights off. Charlie had originally suggested keeping the lights on so that the people in the house could see easier if something was wrong. Billy pointed out how hard it was to see out into the desert, and how easy it was to see inside with the lights on. Charlie changed his tune then, and they fixed the window Billy had broken to make his point.

Upstairs both children were asleep. Billy crept, as quietly as a man of his size could, into Brigitte's room and knelt down next to her. He said his prayers then. Just to him and to God, to watch over her as she slept and to keep her safe. He kissed her on her crown and closed the door behind him. He made his way into little Gav's room and did the same thing. Prayers, kisses, a deep breath to take in the smell of the little guy. And then, off to bed himself.

"Night Will."

He whispered loudly as he passed the guest room and received a grunt in return.

Finally to bed himself. He took off his shoulder holster and hung it on his bed post, the black coal metal of the guns still glistened in the moonlight, but only for a brief second before he pulled the curtains shut. He undressed, brushed his teeth, and then knelt to say his own prayers, for Aurora, Tara, Gavin, Will, Charlie, and Oscar, Integra, Alucard, and everyone else on earth who deserved the love of God but Billy had forgotten. The list was the same every night, and so far, so good.

A few hours of rest and he would be up again in the morning making breakfast for Brigitte and Will would be teaching him how to say eggs again. He had trouble with the pronunciation apparently. He closed his eyes, and drifted, seeing Aurora's face again in his mind and latching on like dew to a leaf.

Andrei watched the house carefully, as he had for the last 48 hours. He was a dour, humorless man- or at least he was after he'd been shot decades ago. He simply followed the orders of the family he'd sworn allegiance to, and that was that. That particular family had instructed him to  abandon his usual duties as Mavra Volkov's driver and resume his more violent work to probe the Byrne's defenses while Gavin and Aurora were away. Kill William Byrne and the children if possible.

Potential threats: Billy Mastrosimone, almost a dozen guards. Mastrosimone was supposed to be dead, but here he was.

Andrei had been a Bratok for years, and he was no stranger to being outnumbered. No, young Volkov had surpassed him long ago... but Andrei still served. Ignoring his orders to retreat if there were too many guards, Andrei looked down at the bow, rifle, and pistol on the ground next to him. He was lying down flat on his stomach, having crawled through the desert to set up in a good position. 

Andrei, incapable of feeling fear, slept for a couple hours on the ground before picking up his bow. The six special arrows were designed to explode on impact and start fires. He'd set the house and guest house ablaze, then use his sniper rifle to thin the crowd- possibly even to pick off Mastrosimone or the young Byrne.

Andrei risked moving to a kneel, strung the bow, and let fly. When it landed on the roof, the arrow blast apart in flame as it was supposed to... but the roof didn't catch. He frowned, stringing and shooting another arrow. Same effect. Grunting with frustration, he shot an arrow at the guest house; the arrow exploded and the roof caught fire, though not as much as he hoped. Another arrow in the guest house kept that fire building slowly. But the last two arrows, directed at the main house, failed to have any effect.

Cursing, he picked up the sniper rifle and began firing. The targets were illuminated by the fire, while he was still shrouded in darkness.

He was able to unload 3 clips, dropping seven of the guards, before Mastrosimone entered the yard. 

Charlie had burst into Billy's room in time for Billy to rip open the curtain to see the guest house in flames and the men moving around inside. He watched as the men inside started to leave, and then drop, one by one. But what direction? Where?

He watched as the shooter made a mistake, a fatal one to the man he had killed, but a mistake nonetheless. The direction the guard had been running in was not the direction his head moved when he died. Billy had seen enough to turn his head and pick out a small ridge in the land, a great vantage if you wanted to lay on your belly and have just enough or a rise to hide your silhouette.

"Fuck. WILL!"

He screamed through the house, both literally and in his motion.

"GET THE KIDS. USE THE SIDE DOOR TO THE GARAGE. THIS IS CABOOSE SMARTY PANTS. DON'T FUCK IT UP OR YOUR SISTER IS GONNA BE PISSED."

Before he realized it, he had his shoulder holster back on, and he was halfway down the stairs in his boxers, his undershirt, and nothing else.

"Charlie, you and whoever is left need to keep that fucker down until I can get to him."

Whoever is left indeed. Billy stepped into the artificial grass and felt a familiar wet but sticky feeling in between his toes. No time to think on it though, only time to move. And move he did. Fast as he could he charged across the lawn a hail of gunfire in both directions, one foot pounding in front of the other. The guy was farther away than it looked from the house, but he had to get there. He had to.